Method for interpreting design data and associating manufacturing information with the data and software and systems for implementing the method

ABSTRACT

A method of generating a manufacturing process for producing an assembly and a computer system or systems implementing the method. The method generally includes the steps of: designing at least one assembly to be produced having at least two components to be engaged to one another such that the area where the components are to be engaged thereby defines at least one contact area; generating a representation, typically a three-dimensional representation, of the assembly; assigning a unique identifier to each individual component of the assembly or, when a group of more than one identical components is utilized in the assembly, assigning identical unique identifiers to each component of the group, thereby identifying each component as identical; assigning manufacturing instructions to the contact area; and generating manufacturing instructions for the manufacturing process based at least in part on the identifier and the contact area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/645,392, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,072,729, entitled METHOD FORINTERPRETING DESIGN DATA AND ASSOCIATING MANUFACTURING INFORMATION WITHTHE DATA AND SOFTWARE AND SYSTEMS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE METHOD filed onAug. 21, 2003, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/645,392,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,072,729, claims the benefit of and priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/404,977, filed Aug. 21, 2002,entitled METHOD FOR INTERPRETING DESIGN DATA AND ASSOCIATINGMANUFACTURING INFORMATION WITH THE DATA AND SOFTWARE FOR IMPLEMENTINGTHE METHOD, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditionally, when designing a method of manufacturing an article, adesigner would first create a drawing of the item to be manufactured.The drawing would either be a three-dimensional drawing or a set ofdrawings consisting of top, side, and front views. Computer aideddrafting (CAD) is often used to create the drawing. Once the design iscreated, the engineering group would take over and machininginstructions or manufacturing instructions would be added to the design.If necessary, the design would be altered in order to make the designmanufacturable. Unfortunately, this results in significant time-wasting,significant inefficiencies in manufacturing processes, and occasionallyoverall design forfeiture for failure to create a manufacturable design.

Viewed in more detail, conventionally, once the engineer receives thedesign from a designer, the engineer must interpret the design and thenhe or she uses his or her knowledge and design information to engineerthe design. Previously, when a design is presented to an engineer in anyform, (i.e. sketch, verbal description, drawing, computer file, etc.)the engineer must use his or her skills and talents to translate thedesign into a feasible manufacturing concept. This is usually aniterative process. The translation of a design into an engineeredconcept relies heavily on the mental skills and intuition of theengineer translating the design. For example, a person can identify whatscrew is appropriate for a given situation based on a combination oftheir knowledge, tools and intuition. This is extended to how manyscrews are needed as well. They could ask the designer what the purposeof a shelf is, then with this knowledge, determine how to support thisshelf based on the designer's requirements. However, if the skill orknowledge of the engineer is at all lacking, the result may be a poorlyengineered product. In some cases, the designer and engineer is the sameperson but the process is largely the same even if the task ofconverting a design to reality happens simultaneously.

There have been many tools developed, such as a calculator or computerconfigured with software, to aid in this process, but the methodgenerally remains the same. Significantly, the calculations are made toverify the engineer's assumptions rather than to engineer the design.Prior to the present invention, a person generally reviewed and analyzedeach scenario to determine how a product should be made. Typically, thisengineering process and its associated costs are amortized over the lifeof the engineered product and are minimal as a function of its cost.However, when a product is only going to be provided once or in limitednumbers, the engineering time and cost can be a significant part of theoverall cost of the product and time to manufacture.

When forming a custom designed product, as with a new product, eachindividual component must be engineered and costs of labor andengineering of the design increase significantly due to the inability ofa manufacturer to amortize costs. This is driven to different levelsdepending on the situation. In one example, an architect's prints anddrawings of a kitchen layout for a house is engineered by the cabinetmaker that manufactures them. If a customized kitchen is desired, askilled shop person directly interprets the drawings and executes thedetailed manufacturing process by manually calculating in their head.Other times the cabinet maker may have stored their knowledge insoftware that outputs the information required to build the cabinets.This information can be stored in the form of a spreadsheet or database.Another common form is software designed for detailing cabinets. Thesoftware, by combining user input and programmatic instructions createdby the developer, outputs the information that is used by thecabinetmaker. In any of the programmatic examples, all engineering mustbe done before the system can be used for design. This is an unnaturalconstraint of many systems. The natural process is to have a concept,design the concept, engineer the concept, and manufacture the concept.This is the most natural product development.

In order to accommodate a flexible product scheme and allowcustomization by the customer, all of the engineering information mustbe defined and the relevant characteristics exposed in order for theproducer to recognize what is being ordered. As the product mixincreases, the amount of information required to support this grows atan exponential rate. Therefore, the task of managing thisdata/information grows as well, placing a burden on the infrastructuresupporting the process. The typical “fix” has been to reinforce thisinfrastructure. This has led to diminished returns as the cycle betweenthe customer's order and shipment are decreased. In many cases, theengineering process internally remains longer than the actual internalmanufacturing process. Much of the data mushroom is related to theexpression of each product in its unique state and a requirement tostore this information for referral later. Even systems specificallydesigned to reduce this expression use rules and knowledge of arelatively low level and still require large amounts of information tobe defined, consuming many man-hours before they are even usable.

The present invention method is designed to minimize the amount ofinformation required to engineer an assembly and to store thisinformation so it can be automatically and intelligently applied tomultiple and/or different designs, thereby placing design ahead ofengineering in the hierarchy and allowing for manufacturingoptimizations and end user designing of custom assemblies of anyproduct. It can also be used to guide designers in the process ofdesigning, if so desired. It will abstract a rule or method to itshighest practical point of definition, thus increasing the reusabilitywithout further definition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of generatinga manufacturing process for producing an assembly is provided. Themethod includes the steps of: designing at least one assembly to beproduced having at least two components to be engaged to one another,thereby defining at least one contact area; generating a representation,typically a three-dimensional representation, of the assembly (e.g.,using drawings, computer-aided drafting (CAD), computer software, etc.);assigning a unique identifier to each individual component of theassembly or, when a group of more than one identical components isutilized in the assembly, assigning identical unique identifiers to eachcomponent of the group, thereby identifying each component as identical;assigning manufacturing instructions to the contact area; and generatingmanufacturing instructions for the manufacturing process based at leastin part on the identifier and the contact area.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a system isprovided for generating a manufacturing process for producing at leastone assembly. The system includes a processor, computer software toimplement the method, and optionally, Internet web-pages that allow aremote user to design an assembly and submit the assembly to amanufacturer who will then be able to produce the assembly by followingthe manufacturing process defined by the identifier of each componentand the manufacturing methodology or methodologies for each contactarea.

These and other features, advantages and objects of the presentinvention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled inthe art by reference to the following specification, claims and appendeddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a design process according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a computer utilizing software toemploy the design and engineering aspects of the present invention toinstruct manufacturer devices how to construct a designed assembly mostefficiently based on the individual component identifiers and thecontact space identifiers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Applicant has discovered a surprisingly efficient method forinterpreting design data and associating manufacturing information withthe data, which greatly enhances efficiencies, both in the design andmanufacturing stages of product development and can be utilized in manyways including the generation of manufacturing instructions.

The present method is premised on the understanding of geometricinformation about a given element. Typically, each component of anassembly is assigned an identifier and the contact areas of eachcomponent are identified. The contact area may include the spatialrelationship between the two components and, while typically they are inphysical contact with one another, the contact area does not necessarilymean the two components contact one another. One utilizing the presentmethod can analyze the contact points between a given component and anyother component in an assembly by looking at the geometric expression ofthe contact area. The next step of an embodiment of the method typicallyincludes examining the geometric expression of the contact area andapplying a predefined manufacturing methodology to that contact area.This allows a designer, as well as a computer used by the designer, toautomatically understand and change manufacturing methods without havingto completely rework all of the details of a product design, whetherthat design be in drawing form, machine code, computer numerical control(CNC) instructions, computerized visualizations, or any other type ofexpression of a manufacturing process for a given part. A manufacturingmethodology is also typically assigned to each component, which helpsfacilitate engineering of the individual components when needed.

More particularly, referring to FIG. 1, in the practice of an embodimentof the method 10 according to the present method, a user may design anassembly as shown in step 12 utilizing any given product design systemand/or software to establish a three-dimensional representation of anassembly. Such a representation may be completed by a sketch on awriting surface, utilize a computer-aided drafting (CAD) softwareprogram to generate the design, using other software to generate adesign, or by utilizing an internal web-site to generate a design. Whilea two-dimensional rendition of each component may suffice in someinstances, each individual part should typically be representedthree-dimensionally. Typically this three-dimensional rendering is doneas a set of vector points in space or as software-based instructionsthat resolve to form a solid model or any other method generally knownby one of ordinary skill. The resulting design may then be stored eitherin electronic form, paper form or by other appropriate means, and alsooptionally employ some other form of identification.

Next, a unique global identification or identifier is assigned to eachcomponent of an assembly seen in step 14. Typically, the identifier maybe any unique identifier for the component or group of components. Suchan identifier may include one or more of the following: athree-dimensional representation in either three-dimensional ortwo-dimensional form, an alphanumerical identifier, numericalidentifier, alphabetical identifier, the physical properties of thecomponent, the size of the component, the shape of the component, or anycombination of the above. Any information desired may be incorporatedinto the identifier.

Moreover, any other unique identifiers can also be used on a givencomponent or group of components. For example, one component of anassembly could be identified by size and shape, while another componentcan be identified by its material properties, and still anothercomponent identified by a numerical value.

Significantly, while FIG. 1 depicts designing the assembly 12 andsubsequently assigning a unique component identifier to the componentsof the assembly 14, it is important to note that in a given application,the unique identifier(s) may be assigned to individual components priorto designing an assembly. This may be most useful and often used wherethe designer is a lay person. Often, the unique identifier includesinformation about the manufacturing methodology for each component. Thiscould include information such as dimensions of the component, whatfinish is to be applied or any other physical attribute of thecomponent. Typically, the identifier would not include manufacturingmethodology regarding the contact point, but could in some cases. Themanufacturing methodology may be applied to the identifier for eachcomponent before or after design of the assembly is complete as well asduring the design process.

Once the three-dimensional design has been created by a designer and theidentifier assigned for each component of the assembly, the contact areabetween each component is identified and examined as shown in step 16.Next, each given contact area is assigned a particular manufacturingmethodology to construct, assemble, or connect the given components instep 18. Generally, the manufacturing methodology is based at least inpart on an analysis of the relationship between the physical propertiesof each part of the assembly, their position in space relative to oneanother, and external forces such as gravity and amount of stress/forcethat will be exerted on a given contact area. For example, a particularmanufacturing methodology may be represented as machining instructionssuch as beveling, drilling, welding, rabbit jointing, or sanding. Themanufacturing methodology could also represent hardware such as a bolt,screw, nail, rivet, hinge, etc., which is to be used for theconstruction of the assembly at the contact area. The manufacturingmethodology also may be a combination of machining and hardwareinstructions, such as hinges for a door that require a recess in onecomponent. Moreover, information about adhesives used for constructing agiven assembly and sealants may also be included as a possiblemanufacturing methodology in addition to the above machining andhardware instructions. Typically, information concerning any and allelements that are used to instruct machines and/or people regarding theway any two given pieces of an assembly need to be held together orconnected together, either permanently or temporarily, may be assignedto a given contact point.

By not applying the manufacturing methodology or information to theelements as they relate to the complete assembly, but instead applyingthe manufacturing methodology or information to the contact points wheretwo elements meet and relate to one another, significant efficienciesare achieved. By analyzing the relationship between given parts andanalyzing the part types along with that relationship, an operator isable to make a determination as to what type of manufacturing process isbest suited for a given connection of two pieces of an assembly.Moreover, the most efficient use of manufacturing facilities and theresources may be obtained.

In the present method, an operator is not concerned with the particularcomponents that exist within an assembly, except for the area where anytwo components contact one another. Generally, one is not concernedabout the actual components coming into contact, but the focus is on thearea where the components come in contact with one another. By applyingmanufacturing methodology to that area, the method also allows one toadd or take away components from a design without impacting itsmanufacturability and allows the design to automatically respond to agiven change immediately without having to reengineer, recreate,redesign, or make a new component.

Because the focus of the present method 10 is on any two givencomponents, A and B, and the space shared or the contact area sharedbetween A and B, by analyzing all three of these elements, thecomponents and the shared contact area, a particular manufacturingprocess may be defined and manufacturing instructions generated in step20. One could simply make the adjustment to component A and component Band the manufacturing methodology would adjust to the change based uponthe relationship between components. If one wanted to make an adjustmenton the methodology to be used on component A and component B, one needonly reprocess the information and automatically all instances of thatrelationship would be updated with the new relationship information.

Prior to employing the inventive method, in the case of designing andmanufacturing a kitchen cabinet, for example, the methodology used toderive the machining/automation of this product would not only identify,for example, an end panel A, but within the identification of end panelA, would also identify instructions for all of the parts that wouldpossibly come in contact with panel A. It would be predetermined whatparts come in contact with the end panel, such that it would includeinstructions about if an end panel had a top shelf and bottom shelf, andit would include the machining instructions for the top shelf or themanufacturing instructions for the top shelf in the end paneldescription. Such instructions might be parametrically driven based onthe width of the end panel or may be driven based upon some otherfactor.

By contrast, engineering a kitchen cabinet design according to thepresent method, the end panel would be an end panel no matter where itis used within the entire kitchen. The end panel would have a unique setof properties, which could be resolved or reduced to theidentification/identifier of the end panel. Typically, such anidentifier, as discussed above, includes a single three-dimensional orother representation of the end panel. Therefore, generically, one woulddescribe an end panel with a particular identifier and every time an endpanel would be used in the given design that item would be referencedwith that identifier. Supposing a kitchen cabinet has a shelf, the shelfis something that would be uniquely identified as a shelf by its ownidentifier and, therefore, could not be an end panel and an end panelcould not be a shelf.

Suppose the end panel, as above, has the letter A as its identifier (asdiscussed above, this could be any identification, including athree-dimensional representation of an end panel, a vector-drivenrepresentation or any other symbol or unique designation) and the shelfhas the letter B as its identifier. According to the inventive method, ageometric representation of the individual points comprising a shelf Band the individual points that comprise the end panel A would berepresented along with a representation, typically a geometricrepresentation, showing the contact area that is shared between the twoparts. Next, according to the present method, one could associate thefact that item end panel A and shelf B are in contact with one another.More particularly, one could further identify that end panel A beproduced according to one manufacturing methodology, shelf B producedaccording to another methodology, and by defining the parameters of thecontact area, one could identify the manufacturing methodology toassemble or connect the components. Once all this information isinputted into a computer or otherwise assembled, an operator can analyzeall of the information about all of the given components of an assemblyand their contact points and manufacturing methodologies.

Also, previous to the inventive method one could define an end panel anda shelf with manufacturing methodology generally assigned to aparticular edge of the shelf that is to contact the end panel, such thatwhen a designer places the shelf in the design in contact with the endpanel, the manufacturing methodology could transfer to the end panel.More particularly, the defined end panel may just contain dimensionalspecification such that it is to be six inches wide. The shelf mayinitially be six inches wide as well with a rule that connecting dowels,for example, will be placed one inch prior to the front of the shelf andone inch from the back. If designed to be connected with one another,this dowel rule could transfer the need for corresponding recesses inthe end panel. However, if the designer were to alter the design to makethe shelf ten inches wide, the rule contained with the shelf would notaccurately transfer to the end panel as the corresponding requiredrecess would have to be in open space. Furthermore, by previous methods,if the shelf and its rules are not utilized precisely as they weredefined in the original design, the engineering may be defective. Thissignificantly hinders designers because a designer must select frominnumerable elements to generate an engineerable design. By contrast, inthe inventive method, the end panel(s) and shelf would contain uniqueidentifiers. The contact area between the end panel and the shelf woulddefine the manufacturing methodology such as connecting with dowels oneinch from each end of the contact area.

Using this inventive method allows a designer to modify the dimensionsor other characteristics of the components or the manufacturingmethodology without the necessity of redefining the manufacturingmethodology which would previously have been defined in connection withat least one of the components. Moreover, as discussed in greater detaillater, if a design change is made to the components or the manufacturingmethodology of the contact area that would result in a potentiallypoorly designed assembly, software employing the present method maynotify a user of the potentially poor design, prompt the user to changea component(s), and/or the manufacturing methodology to correct thepotential design defect, or automatically correct a portion of thedesign to correct the potential design defect thereby better assuringthe assembly being produced is free of defects which also free thedesigner to be more creative and decreases the time to engineer themanufacturing process for an assembly.

The present method can be used to check/determine based upon theidentifying information, whether or not a design is manufacturable. Ifengineering issues are determined to exist such that the design wouldnot be manufacturable, the user may modify the design to correct theissues. Referring to FIG. 2, a computer system 22 is shown that may beemployed to implement the method of the present invention. The computersystem 22 typically includes a processor 30, memory 32, and computerprogram/software or other code searches HTML code 34. The computersystem 22 may also optionally contain a network connection to theInternet 30 or one of more additional computer systems. The computerprogram/software may recommend manufacturing methodology changes or thelike or allow for a user defined manufacturing methodologies to beentered to supplement the database of possible manufacturingmethodologies. The corrections or any modifications to a component orcontact area can also result in a cascading effect from onemanufacturing component or technique to another such that any componentor contact area effected by the change will automatically re-engineeritself to a manufacturable design. Typically, such cascading changes arebased upon information contained in the identifiers and contact areasthat were not altered by the user.

As an example, a desk has a top and two end panels in the assembly to beconstructed.

The unique identifiers assigned to the end panels may define them as acertain shape and as constructed from a certain material such asparticle board and by a certain manufacturing methodology, while the topof the desk may be defined as a specific shape and/or as solid oak bythe designer. Next, a manufacturing methodology would be assigned to thecontact points where the desktop and end panels meet. If, for example, amethodology of merely using an adhesive to connect the end panels withthe desktop were designed by the designer/user, based on the weight ofthe top contained in the identifier in the oak desktop component and thestrength of the end panels as a portion of the unique identifier for theend panels, software employing the present method may inform thedesigner/user of the need to re-engineer the current design, suggest analternative design such as using solid oak end panels with a higherstrength as a portion of their identifier and/or an alternativemanufacturing methodology such as using metal support brackets to attachthe oak top to the end panels for additional support, or allow thedesigner/user to provide a new manufacturing methodology through aninput method, which would then be incorporated into the design.Ultimately, the end design can be verified and previewed prior togenerating final manufacturing instructions and production of theassembly.

In another example, a designer generates a design for a bookshelf with atop panel, two sides, a bottom panel, a back panel, and shelves eachhaving unique identifiers. The contact points and their manufacturingmethodologies are defined. The identifier for the shelves may define theshelves as eight inches wide. If the contact point for the shelves isdefined as connected to the back panel using hardware that only supportsa six inch shelf, software employing the present method would typicallyindicate the need to change or automatically change the shelfcharacteristics and/or the manufacturing methodology used to connect theback panel and the shelves to hardware that supports an eight inch shelfsuch that acceptable construction would be possible. Further, supposethe side panels, top panels, bottom panel, and back panel were made ofdiffering metals and such information was incorporated into their uniqueidentifier and the manufacturing/construction methodology identified wasa weld. If a particular weld would not function to connect thecomponents determined based on the individual component identifierinformation and contact area information, such a fact typically would beidentified to the designer so a correction could be made. Significantly,as discussed above, one change to a given component may result in acascade of recommended or automatic changes in the overall design bychanging a series of components based upon known identifiers and/ormanufacturing methodologies associated with the connection areas. Thissignificantly accelerates the process for generating an engineeredassembly making engineering an assembly virtually automatic, especiallywhen individual components already contain unique identifiers andvarious predefined manufacturing instructions to be associated with thecontact area(s) and component(s).

Additionally, the method of the present invention could be used todesign, engineer, and produce an assembly of any known article ofmanufacture including cabinetry, entire homes or other buildings,vehicles, airplanes, and phone electrical transmission systems. Theassembly could also be a component of a larger assembly.

Moreover, the manufacturing methodology of the individual componentscontained within an identifier and the manufacturing methodologiesassociated with the contact points of each component may be used todetermine what type of manufacturing process is best suited for a givenassembly design, or as a means to optimize an entire production facilitybased upon the manufacturing needs of the various designs to beconstructed in a given time frame with specified equipment. Significantefficiencies are gained when multiple assemblies are engineered usingthe present method. Based at least in part upon the manufacturingmethodologies of the components and contact areas of the multipledesigns, optimization and proper allocation of machining, human andother resources such as information technology resources in a productionfacility can be achieved and manufacturing instructions which include atleast one task produced. The manufacturing instructions and theindividual tasks defined herein are used to construct any designedassemblies in the most efficient manner. Moreover, bottlenecks, if any,in the manufacturing process could be identified as well as potentiallyunderutilized machinery and human resources.

The present method can be achieved electronically, automatically bycomputer, or manually through associating the information either onpaper or some other manual method or combination of the above.Typically, as seen in FIG. 2, a computer system 20, which is optionallyconnected to the Internet 30 thereby allowing a remote user to design anassembly, communicate manufacturing instructions or process informationvia a computer network or the Internet 26 to one or more manufacturingdevices 24 a, 24 b, 24 c thereby directing the manufacturing devices tocomplete at least one task defined in the manufacturing instructions.Optionally, these manufacturing devices may be linked to one anotherdirectly over a network 28 a, 28 b. When the manufacturing devices arelinked to one another, once the first device has completed its task, thefirst manufacturing device can communicate this to the nextmanufacturing device directly without further use of a computer system.Additionally, the manufacturing devices may communicate with one anotherover a network utilizing one or more computer systems, which may or maynot be the computer system 32. The computer system(s) facilitatingcommunication between manufacturing devices subsequently directs amanufacturing device to begin another task once a task is completed.Once informed of the completing of a task, the computer system maydirect the manufacturing device to being another task.

The above description is considered that of the preferred embodiment(s)only. Modifications of the invention will occur to those skilled in theart and to those who make or use the invention. Therefore, it isunderstood that the embodiment(s) shown in the drawings and describedabove is merely for illustrative purposes and not intended to limit thescope of the invention, which is defined by the following claims asinterpreted according to the principles of patent law, including thedoctrine of equivalents.

1. A method of generating a manufacturing process for producing at leastone assembly, said method comprising the steps of: designing at leastone assembly to be produced comprising at least two components to beengaged to one another such that the area where the components are to beengaged thereby defines at least one contact area; generating arepresentation of the assembly; assigning a first identifier to a firstcomponent of the assembly or, when a group of more than one identicalfirst components is utilized in the assembly, assigning identical firstidentifiers to each first component of the group thereby identifyingeach first component as identical; assigning a second identifier to asecond component of the assembly or, when a group of more than oneidentical second components is utilized in the assembly, assigningidentical second identifiers to each second component therebyidentifying each second component as identical; assigning amanufacturing methodology to at least one contact area; generatingmanufacturing instructions for the manufacturing process based at leastin part on the first identifier, second identifier, and the contactarea; and outputting the generated manufacturing instructions for themanufacturing process.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprisingassigning a manufacturing methodology to the first identifier and thesecond identifier.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein at least onecomputer system is utilized to execute at least one step of the method.4. The method of claim 3, wherein the computer system directs a computernumerical controlled device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thegenerated manufacturing instructions are in machine readable form andthe method further comprises designing the assembly on a computer systemremote from a manufacturing facility thereby allowing a remote user todesign an assembly independent from the manufacturing facility.
 6. Themethod of claim 5 further comprising the step of shipping the assemblyto a user of the remote computer system.
 7. The method of claim 5further comprising the steps of predicting manufacturing costs forvarying product designs and monitoring manufacturing cost predictions ofvarying product designs.
 8. The method of claim 5 further comprising thestep of reporting to a user one or more design defects between theindividual components of the assembly and the assigned manufacturingmethodologies of at least one contact area based at least in part on themanufacturing methodologies of the contact area and the identifier forthe components.
 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step ofpredicting manufacturing costs for varying product designs andmonitoring manufacturing cost predictions of varying product designs.10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of modifying themanufacturing instructions generated by modifying the manufacturingmethodology assigned to the identifiers, the contact area or both theidentifiers and contact area and regenerating the manufacturinginstructions.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first identifierand second identifier each comprise at least one of the group consistingof a three-dimensional representation, an alphanumeric identifier, theshape of the component, the material of the component, the numericalidentifier, an alphabetical identifier, the size of the component, andany other physical property of the component.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the first identifier and second identifier each comprise atleast one of the group consisting of a three-dimensional representation,an alphanumeric identifier, the shape of the component, the material ofthe component, the numerical identifier, an alphabetical identifier, thesize of the component and any other physical property of the component.13. The method of claim 1, wherein the representation of the assembly isgenerated using at least one of the group consisting of computer-aideddrafting software, a writing surface and a writing device, and anInternet web-site.
 14. The method of claim 13 further comprising usingat least one computer system utilizing at least a portion of themanufacturing instructions to direct at least one machine used toproduce the assembly wherein the manufacturing methodology comprises amanufacturing methodology chosen from the group consisting of machininginstructions, hardware instructions, and combinations thereof.
 15. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising the step of producing the assemblyutilizing the manufacturing instructions for the manufacturing process,wherein the manufacturing instructions comprise one or more tasksperformed by a first manufacturing device, a manufacturing instructiongenerating computer system comprising a processor and memory directs thefirst manufacturing device to perform at least one task defined at leastin part by the manufacturing instructions, the manufacturing instructiongenerating computer system and the first manufacturing device areconnected by a network, and a design computer system located remote fromthe instruction generating computer system is utilized to design theassembly.
 16. A method of producing an assembly comprising the steps of:providing a design computer system comprising a processor and a memorysubsystem coupled to the processor wherein the memory subsystem storescode; designing an assembly to be produced using the design computersystem to generate a three-dimensional representation of the assemblywherein the assembly comprises at least two components and wherein aspatial relationship between the components comprises a contact area;assigning a first identifier to a first component of the assembly or,when a group of more than one identical first components is utilized inthe assembly, assigning the identical first identifiers to each firstcomponent thereby identifying each first component as identical;assigning a second identifier to a second component of the assembly or,when a group of more than one identical second components is utilized inthe assembly, assigning identical second identifiers to each secondcomponent thereby identifying each second component as identical;assigning a manufacturing methodology to the contact area; generatingmanufacturing instructions for the manufacturing process based at leastin part on the first identifier, second identifier, and the contactarea; and outputting the generated manufacturing instructions for themanufacturing process.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the designcomputer system is remote from the instruction generating computersystem.
 18. A method of producing an assembly comprising the steps of:providing a design computer system comprising a processor and a memorysubsystem coupled to the processor wherein the memory subsystem storescode; designing an assembly to be produced using the design computersystem to generate a three-dimensional representation of the assemblywherein the assembly comprises at least two components and wherein aspatial relationship between the components comprises a contact area;assigning an identifier to identical individual components of theassembly; assigning a manufacturing methodology to at least one contactarea; generating manufacturing instructions for the manufacturingprocess based at least in part on the identifiers and the contact area;and outputting the generated manufacturing instructions for themanufacturing process.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the designcomputer system is remote from an instruction generating computersystem.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the design computer systemis located remote from a computer system that generates themanufacturing instructions for the manufacturing process and furthercomprising the step of shipping the assembly to a user of the designcomputer system.